Seahawks secondary: Four players, one mind

Published 10:53 pm Wednesday, July 30, 2008

KIRKLAND — Kelly Jennings remembers the precise moment when he first noticed.

The Seattle Seahawks were hosting the San Francisco 49ers last November, and for reasons not even the player himself can explain, Jennings made a bad read and left his receiver uncovered.

As if reading the young cornerback’s mind, safety Brian Russell slid over to that side of the field and jumped into the area where Jennings was supposed to be.

It was a subtle move, but Russell’s unspoken adjustment signaled that Seattle’s secondary had started to think as one.

Nine months later, the Seahawks bring back all four starters in the secondary — all of them with a like mind.

“They have a really good feel for playing with each other, which is very important,” defensive backs coach Jim Mora said. “It’s a whole different kind of atmosphere. In meetings, it’s different. On the field, it’s different. There’s better communication.”

Mora said his job is different this season in that he’s not trying to bring a group of newcomers together. Veteran safeties Russell and Deon Grant were new to the team last year, while Jennings was entering his first year as a full-time starter.

This time around, experience and chemistry are assets — not question marks.

“We’re working on different things because we know each other so well,” Jennings said. “It allows us to free up, work on our craft and become a better secondary.”

Instead of explaining what each player’s assignment might be in a given package, Mora spends meeting time analyzing philosophies of opposing offenses. Rather than dwell on adjustments and spacing, he initiates discussions about quarterbacks the Seahawks will face this fall.

“They know what to do. They know their assignments. They understand the scheme,” Mora said. “So now we’re trying to take it to another level in terms of understanding how offenses are trying to attack us.”

In Jennings, Grant, Russell and Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Trufant, the Seahawks have the makings of a secondary that can continue to grow together. All are 30 years or younger, and all are signed beyond the 2008 season.

“They work together extremely well,” defensive coordinator John Marshall said. “But the big advantage is on game day, when you have to make an adjustment.”

For Jennings, the biggest adjustment came last November. The unit had been getting more cohesive with each game, but the 24-0 win over San Francisco took things to a whole new level.

“It just seemed like everything was clicking,” Jennings said this week. “After that game, I thought: We really have a chance to have a great secondary.”

The secondary continued to improve down the stretch, and now the Seahawks are hoping to have some carryover into 2008.

“We’re trying to hit the ground running,” Trufant said. “(The coaches) don’t have to do as much teaching.”

Trufant added that the cohesion that built up last season was readily apparent early in this year’s training camp.

“It came back from Day 1,” he said. “We know exactly where we need to be. We’re just trying to tighten it up and give ourselves an inch here and an inch there.”

This year, instead of trying to mesh into a cohesive unit, the Seahawks secondary has bigger goals.

“To be the best we can be, to be No. 1 in all categories,” Grant said. “No matter how good an offense might be, we want to dominate and be No. 1. We want to be the best we can be.”